Posted By Shay On October 3, 2007 @ 2:57 pm In Politics & Social Justice | No Comments

Naomi Wolf[1] is not only a best-selling author with a current book (End of America[2]) on the New York Times bestseller list at #14. She is also a co-founder of the American Freedom Campaign[3], a grassroots effort to ensure that presidential candidates pledge to uphold the constitution and protect our liberties from further erosion.

According to a release by the campaign earlier this week, six Democratic presidential candidates have signed on, or submitted signed letters that conform to the campaign’s goals. Former Senator John Edwards and Senator Joe Biden sent signed letters outlining their positions, while Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM), Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), and former Senator Mike Gravel (D-AK) signed the “American Freedom Pledge.” No Republican candidate has yet to respond, although Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) earlier this year did sign a similar pledge circulated by the American Freedom Agenda, an organization formed by conservative leaders, including former Reagan official Bruce Fein and former congressman Bob Barr.

Today, the campaign announced that Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL, has agreed to sign the pledge. The only holdout now among Democrats is Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY.

“We are very pleased that Senator Obama has joined so many of his colleagues in signing the American Freedom Pledge,” said Wolf. “But we will not be satisfied until we receive a solid commitment from each and every one of the presidential candidates. This is not just another request from an interest group; this is a test of whether our next president will be true to the vision of our Founders. Any candidate who does not express strong support for defending the Constitution does not deserve to be president.”

The American Freedom Campaign and the American Freedom Campaign Action Fund were founded by MoveOn.org co-founder Wes Boyd, scientist and social entrepreneur William Haseltine, Fenton Communications CEO David Fenton, and Wolf.
The American Freedom Campaign (AFC) Action Fund is encouraging all candidates to sign this pledge, the text of which is as follows:

“We are Americans, and in our America we do not torture, we do not imprison people without charge or legal remedy, we do not tap people’s phones and emails without a court order, and above all we do not give any President unchecked power.

“I pledge to fight to protect and defend the Constitution from attack by any President.”